Having completed his jail sentence, Gary Robb has sent an open letter to President Eroglu, claiming compensation for himself and his many unhappy customers.

During the late 1990's and for nearly a decade, Gary Robb owned one of the largest construction companies in the TRNC. He now claims that the many problems he encountered were the fault of the then CTP government. These problems have been frequently reported over the years.

Mr Robb is now claiming compensation for himself and his aggrieved customers and is threatening to go to international adjudication if compensation is not received. Mr Robb is now back in the UK, having completed a nine month jail sentence in South Cyprus.

The letter is written in English and addressed to the President, though it was also circulated to the press. It lays heavy blame on the then Prime minister Sabit Soyer and Interior Minister Ozkan Murat.

The letter stresses that compensation must be paid to Mr Robb and his many ex-clients. He adds that this will be the last time he will be providing information to the government. If they do not respond positively, he will be taking legal action against the TRNC.

Mr Robb says that the reason his letter has been delayed, is because he has been involved in a number of legal cases. He feels that the full picture has never been revealed and provides a summary of his version of events, as follows:

He says that he came to the TRNC in 1997 to become a property constructor believing that the government would be supplying him with legal title deeds. He soon became the largest construction company through AGA Developments. He was also rewarded with TRNC citizenship.

Mr Robb claims that he was always open about his interest in investing in Thailand and sharing his time between the two countries. However on one of his return trips from Thailand, he was arrested at Ercan airport at the personal order of Mr Soyer. He cleared his name of money laundering charges and his TRNC citizenship, which had been taken away, had to be reinstated. He says that he returned to the TRNC voluntarily from Thailand to complete all his unfinished construction projects. However on his return he discovered that the Contractors Association had confiscated all his machinery, building supplies and bank deposits in the TRNC.

His company, AGA Developments was now headed by Cafer Gurcafer at the personal request of Mr Soyer. Mr Robb says that he contacted his old clients and agreed with them to complete their housing projects in return for payment by instalments but that before he could begin, he was seized by the police, handcuffed, held at gunpoint and handed over to the British police along with his mother. He says that the reason this was done was because he refused to pay bribes to the CTP to help fund their election campaign.

From the UK, Mr Robb was extradited to South Cyprus where he was jailed for nine months, this was because his name was on all the land that he had bought from the TRNC government.

He is now asking for his TRNC citizenship back and promises to address the problems of his ex- clients, particularly those at the Amaranta Valley project.

Mr Robb concludes with a threat saying that while Mr Eroglu was not involved in any of these incidents, if he does not respond positively, then he will be in the same boat as the other parties Mr Robb will be acting against. In addition all the various groups such as the Aga buyers action group need to apologise to Mr Robb for publishing incorrect information about him or he will be taking action in the UK against them also

COMMENT

Many commentators have poured scorn on this claim for compensation. In view of the distress suffered by the customers of Aga Developments Ltd, this is hardly surprising.

Some people do believe that Gary Robb came to North Cyprus with good intentions and that he formed his construction company in order to start a new life, based on a legitimate business operation. On this alternative view, Mr Robb was exploited by several sharp operators in North Cyprus and then blamed when things went wrong.

Mr Gary Robb will have major problems in establishing credility due to his criminal record and jail sentences in both the the UK and the Greek Republic of Cyprus. The rescinding of his TRNC citizenship has already been queried in North Cyprus, but it would be difficult for the current TRNC government to review the matter as it would send the wrong message to the international community. North Cyprus is no longer considered a safe haven for fugitives from justice, and the Greek Republic of Cyprus is currently in the international spotlight for alleged money laundering activities.

It is unclear as to how the legal claim will proceed, or even in which jurisdiction it will be lodged.

There are many contradictory reports concerning Mr Gary Robb, and we apologise for any inaccuracies.